Continues To Fight The Battle

I can’t say the Board of Regents accomplishes nothing, but it must invest ten dollars of its time for each dollar it gets from the Nevada legislature, which has done more to stifle Nevada’s growth than any other organized group of incompetent people.  In spite of Kevin Page’s frustration, he continues to fight the battle.

Being a Regent...

Being a Regent really is like pushing a rock over and over half way up the side of a mountain, only to see it roll to the bottom each time.  Why then, would anyone want to continuously push that rock when it never seems it will get to the top?  Regent Kevin Page seems to have an answer.

Continue To Fight

I have pointed out the futility of being a member of the Nevada Board of Regents because you must know how difficult it is for every member of that board to accomplish anything without money.  The only money given to the board by the state legislature is not only barely above starvation levels, it is not nearly enough for Nevada to build a competitive higher education system.  Yet the Regents, especially those like Kevin Page continue to fight to raise adequate funding.

Board of Regents

The Nevada Board of Regents, which governs the system of higher education, is a separate branch of government, totally different from that in any other state.  The only problem with it being a separate branch of government is that the Nevada constitution writers failed to give it taxing authority.  Therefore, the education system is at the mercy of a legislature, which won’t spend any money on any worthwhile cause.  In spite of this nearly fatal flaw, the Board of Regents still attracts first-class, caring, well-educated and bright members who really do hold the best interests of your children at heart.

Kevin Page

I support Kevin Page for Regent.   I’m not sure how you measure the effectiveness of any member of the Board of Regents.  They have little or no power, are paid nothing to do a thankless job, and meet so seldom that you wonder how they have any idea of the magnitude of their job.  Tomorrow I’ll try to explain this series of shortcomings in a job that still manages to attract good citizens with good intentions.

At Risk?

The community colleges already have strong relationships with Nevada State College, UNLV and UNR. For example, the College of Southern Nevada has UNLV and NSC advisors on its campuses to help students transfer to obtain a four-year degree. Why put these collaborations at risk with four new governance systems?  With the current higher education system under the control of a 13-member Board of Regents, collaborations can happen in an efficient manner. Trying to get agreement among 13 people is a lot easier than the dozens that would be involved with five governing boards.

Helping Our Education System Move Forward

Nevada still has a long, tough, hill to climb when it comes to educating its population. Political games like those behind SB 391 do nothing to move us forward. They do the opposite and push our higher education system back toward a feudal system with each college fighting with the others for their slice of the pie. Our legislators and business community should focus on helping our education system move forward instead of continually cutting funding and creating solutions to problems that don’t exist.